Discover Paulmy: Heritage, walking trails and the Plan d’eau

Paulmy offers several distinct points of interest for a trip: a tourist trail to discover its heritage, a moderate hiking route, a shaded pond in the village centre, and buildings of various kinds. If you’re looking for a hotel for a trip to Paulmy, you can plan your stay around your own interests. Whether you focus on hiking, scenery or historic sights will influence which of these topics matter most when planning your trip.

Tourist trail, hiking route and scenery

The Circuit Touristique de Paulmy was inaugurated on 6 May 2023 as a tourist trail for discovering the area’s heritage. Several centuries-old oak trees line the trail. In addition, 40 orchid species have been recorded and protected there; visitors can spot some of them along the Circuit. Observe the plants without picking them. The trail thus combines its heritage theme with specific landscape and botanical features.

For a hike with a clearly stated distance, consider L'escapade du Châtelier. The L'escapade du Châtelier hiking route is 22 kilometres long and classified as moderate. It starts and ends on Rue du Stade; the route’s parking area is at the stadium. The Circuit Touristique focuses on discovering the area’s heritage, while the length and difficulty rating of L'escapade give it a clearly defined route profile for planning.

In the heart of the village is the shaded Plan d’eau, which is used for picnics. Its location in the village centre and its shade give it a different focus from the walking routes: here, the pond itself is the main attraction for a picnic, rather than a route of a set length.

Buildings and traces of history

The Château du Châtelier was built in the 12th and 13th centuries in a former border zone between the English kings’ Aquitanian lands and the Kingdom of France. It stands on a limestone outcrop and is surrounded by moats fed by running water. Its keep is 25 metres high, cylindrical and designed with a projecting beak-like feature. The historic border zone and the keep’s distinctive shape offer two different ways to explore the château’s architectural history.

The Dolmen de la Pierre Chaude offers a different architectural feature: it is a sandstone megalith with a polygonal burial chamber. Here, polygonal—meaning many-sided—describes the shape of the burial chamber and clearly distinguishes it from the cylindrical keep. The Brignon is also associated with the old washhouse. Another perspective is offered by the grounds of the Château de Paulmy: around 1860, their central section was landscaped as a garden. The periods are therefore clearly distinct: medieval architectural history at the Château du Châtelier and the landscaping of part of the grounds at the Château de Paulmy in the 19th century.

Discover more destinations: Cussay, Cinq-Mars-La-Pile, Marcilly-Sur-Vienne, Saint-Avertin, Saint-Jean-Saint-Germain, La Châtre, Nazelles-Négron, Savonnières.

For the broader travel overview: Indre-Et-Loire.